February 10, 2010

Generally, my order of cake preference would go something like this (from least favorite to tops): cheesecake, bundt cakes, pound cake, cupcakes, sheet cake, layer cake. (Apparently, my love of frosting is quite the driving factor here, making cake simply a vehicle for the creamy, sugar-happy stuff. Driving. Vehicle. See what I did there?)

The list is not set in stone, of course. Coconut pound cake moves up in the order and inadequately-frosted layer cakes move back. Cinnamon-centered anything automatically gets a high ranking, and on it goes.

But wait! Those are all sweet! There are other cakes to be taken into consideration...Pancakes, for one. Or any type of bean cake-pattie-burger. And we must never overlook the potater cake.

Now, to be fair, there are recipes for true potato cakes, fluffy and probably chocolate-laden. But I'm here to discuss the savory side. You have your latkes(also known as potato pancakes), which are made of grated potato, flour, egg, and perhaps some seasoning and shallow-fried. There are also potato scallops or fritters, which, as I understand it, are common in parts of Australia, New Zealand, and England and involve deep-frying slices of batter-coated taters. (Why these aren't popular in America as well, I do not know.) Another variation from our neighbors across the pond is the Scottish tattie scone, a flatbread-type creation making use of mashed potatoes and a rolling pin.

This is none of those. I suppose it can be considered a combination of latkes and tattie scones, as it consists of already-mashed potatoes that are shaped into patties and pan-fried. Tatkes. That's what they are. Wanna know what else they are? Delicious. Tempting enough to cause one to rouse in the middle of the night and grope blindly to the fridge for a bite. Powerful, I tell you.

Tatkes2 cups leftover mashed potatoes (unless you want to make a batch solely for this purpose, which is completely acceptable and understandable)1/4 cup flour, or possibly more or less, depending on the moisture content of your taterssalt and pepper, to tasteother seasonings, as desired (I think rosemary is awesome)oil, butter, or some combination thereof

Heat a skillet to medium-high heat and add a proper dose of fat.Add the flour, salt, pepper, and other seasonings into the mashed potatoes and incorporate well. Form patties a bit smaller than the size of hockey pucks and let them sit for a few minutes to set up. Gently place the cakes into the hot skillet and let them fry until brown. Carefully flip the patties and then extract them when the other side has browned. Eat 'em while they're hot (or ice-cold as a midnight snack--no one's judging you).

Ahhh! My grandmother used to make these with leftover mashed taters. Don't remember that she added flour (although her potato pancake recipe is a killer recipe and she DOES add flour to that). Adding rosemary is a genius idea...it's an awesome flavor indeed. Lots of butter to make them brown and crunchy. Yep, I can taste 'em already.

I love potato cakes! My mom used to make them with leftover mashed potatoes. She usually grated up a bit of onion in them. I always loved them! Nowadays, there are rarely leftover mashed potatoes at my house! We are a family of 5, and when my mom was making cakes from leftover taters, I was the only child!

I've been doing a lot of reading and research into Irish cooking for my bog, and I've come across several recipes that use potatoes in this manner. Sounds like great comfort food!

We never had a name for this growing up but my dad would always fry up his leftover mashed potatoes. Most of the time he would chop up jalapenos and throw those in too. Although I'm pretty sure he would jalapenos on just about anything...haha.

I haven't thought of these in years. My mom and dad loved making these when I was growing up and I couldn't stand them! haha Very weird, considering that I adore mashed potatoes and hash browns. I'm gonna have to give them a try now that I am the grown-up. : ) What's not to love anyway?

These seem like quite a good reason to make a batch of mashed potatoes in the first place! I've had a healthy dose of latkes (also called "rapés" in the east of France) but now I'm dying to try your tatkes!

Oh my, a crispy exterior and mashed potato-y center! Save one for me. I like anything with the word cake in it, especially with cinnamon... I don't think I've tried enough coconut cakes. I wonder what a coconut potato pancake would taste like :P... maybe sweet potato?

I have had potato cakes made from grated potatoes that we put cream cheese or sour cream on, my kids always called them blinkies. I have made these too. Both are deeelicious! Thanks for reminding me of them Grace, potato cakes here I come!

Say no more! I'm more of a savory fan than a sweet eater. Any recipe that starts off with leftover mashed potatoes is a winner in my book! Your photos are making me want to make some mashed taters right now! :-)

They sound like they would remind me of the little potato crouquettes I get every year at the state fair. I love potatoes. All kinds. And mashed one especially. And if you want to bread them and fry them, I'm there with a bib on!

One of my most cherished memories of Brooklyn was going to my aunt's house for Sunday dinner. She always had a huge platter of potato croquettes & rice balls waiting. The croquettes were enveloped around a small piece of mozzarella before breading & frying and, the rice balls were stuffed with a bit of ground meat, peas and sauce. I think she added flour just like your recipe and I do believe she added an egg. Your "cakes" look absolutely delectable Grace. Much easier too!!! Thank you so much for sharing and for sparking the memory...

I'm pretty fond of potatoes any which way but in cake form them must truly be good! Not often is there left over mash potatoes so I'm thinking I'll have to make some specifically for this recipe.~ingrid

I didn't know potato cakes could be sweet?? Bu then again, anything's possible in the cooking world =] Looking at the first photo, I thought it was a radish cake....but potato cake sounds even better. and it sounds so easy too!

Oh and how funny, my cake list runs opposite from yours--except I would put cheesecake after pound and bundt. But you could probably guess that from my blog. it would help if my attempts at frosting things weren't so darn, well, ugly. You should have seen my pre-blog 1st bday layer cakes for my kids. YIKES.